MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Guram Guramishvili, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, attended the review of the World Bank study "“Middle Trade and Transport Corridor – Policies and Investments to Triple Freight Volumes and Halve Travel Time by 2030”". The discussion was also attended by the representatives of the governments of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Armenia as well as the business associations and diplomatic corps.

"Interest in the Middle Corridor is permanently increasing, creating new opportunities for further route expansion and additional freight. In addition to the transit function, the said corridor has an extremely large load in terms of increasing the economic activity along the corridor and the trade turnover of the countries of the region," – the Deputy Minister stated in his speech.

Guram Guramishvili responded to the study, according to which by 2030 it is possible to triple the cargo flows in the Middle Corridor to 11 million tons. According to him, it is necessary to act in a coordinated manner and take effective steps.

"In 2022, a road map on the development of the middle corridor was signed, which includes specific measures for the period until 2027 in the direction of improving the transport infrastructure and optimizing processes, digitizing the Corridor, and providing an attractive tariff policy. In addition, the railways of Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have created a joint enterprise - Middle Corridor Multimodal, which will also contribute to the improvement of coordination and the attraction of cargo flows," – the Deputy Minister noted.

Guramishvili highlighted that important projects are being implemented in Georgia, which ensure the improvement of the country's transport network and increase the attractiveness of the Middle Corridor. As Guram Guramishvili mentioned, in 2024 it is planned to complete the modernization of the railway and the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The process of selecting a private partner for the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project is also underway.

"Unhindered traffic on the Caspian and Black Seas is extremely important for increasing the competitiveness of the Middle Corridor. Currently, Georgia has a direct ferry connection with the ports of Bulgaria and Romania, but we are working to further increase the mentioned transport connections and frequencies. The implementation of the maritime single window system is also underway in Georgian ports, which has already been implemented in pilot mode since 2024. The aim of the system is to harmonize and simplify the administrative procedures related to the registration of ships in ports, which will further increase the speed and attractiveness of cargo transportation through our ports. At the same time, the implementation of the "Port Unification System" is underway," – Guram Guramishvili noted.

Deputy Minister expressed hope that in cooperation with the World Bank and other financial organizations, significant progress will be achieved in terms of increasing the competitiveness of the Middle Corridor and realizing its potential.